Review of Maria Watches Over Us
I am a proud shoujo-ai lover...And as I was searching for anime of this genre to watch, I found "Maria-sama ga miteru" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I don't really know how to start or what to say (its kinda late so that's not really helping...xD). I am going to be straightforward with my thoughts. Maria-sama ga miteru, has a simple main story, that goes in much depth. That is one of the things I admire about this anime. Although it could have been like the many slice-of-life, school comedies, it covered many issues. It doesn't only talk deeply about love...It talks about religion, friendship, depression, trust, growing up and soooo many otherthings. It gets very emotional...To me, what this anime has done with the story is unbelievable. I am truly amazed by the depth. It gets in general the needed and even more development which I appreciate a lot. So, the fact that it covers many themes etc made me admire it.
-Story- 10/10
As for the art...
That was the main "turn off" before watching it. I was for so long avoiding watching this anime, because I found the artstyle really bad. And I am not proud of that, as one of my favorite anime ever has a very old artstyle as well...Months after finding this anime and "rejecting" it (xD), I watched a cute video with the relationship between two character and well...THAT'S SHOUJO-AI FOR YOU - I decided to watch it! After having watched half of the first season, I actually started liking the artstyle. THE IRONY ;-;. -Well, before you think I am telling you the story of my life, emmm...what did I want to say?....dammit...I should really go to sleep... OH WELL, the thing is, I feel like even if the artstyle doesn't seem appealing to you at the beginning, you will probably appreciate it a lot more as you move on with the series. And right now, I actually am a fan of this artstyle and I do love it! (Although maybe that's just my general love for the series...). I did find some differences in the artstyle as the series moved on, but they were minor and in general they didn't bother me.
-Art- 7/10
The music was really smooth and definitely fitting the plot. It was calm but suspensfull and more "out-going" when needed. In general, Maria-sama ga miteru had a very nice soundtrack.
-Soundtrack- 8/10
THE CHARACTERS
emmmmm...I LOVED THEM. ALL OF THEM. -except from that stupid Touko, she can be hit by a car for all I care- BUT...I loved mostly all of them. To be honest, since I just finished the second season and I still have two more to go, maybe I will have a different opinion about some of those characters, but since right now I am mainly talking about the first (and second) season, the characters are amazing. They are all unique, some more fun, others more loving and caring etc etc. If you watch the series you will probably love Sei the most. That is my case. Sei is one of the most strong I would say and developed characters. At the beginning we see her being simply being funloving, out-going and troublesome in a cool way, but later on...OH MAN...THE DEVELOPMENT IS MORE THAN ENOUGH. THERE IS SO MUCH DEPTH ITS HARD TO EVEN...she is gay btw xD. This anime is a shoujo-ai, as I previously said, but to be completely honest, the shoujo-ai in the relationships is mild. Some of the girls are said to have a boyfriend and between others you will be confused because you won't really know if this between them is friendship or love. The characters are definitely very close to each other but in general this is the only thing I would have prefered to maybe be more clear. Sei is definitely gay though xD. Wait - is that considered
a spoiler?...Nuhhhh, I would say its more like a statement xD. Well, each character gets its own development which is very nice because we see the inside of almost every and each character, and similarly, we get very good development between the different relationship that are formed throughout the story. By the way, there are a lot of ships, so be ready ;)!
-Characters- 10/10
In conclusion, I enjoyed this series very much, and came very close to the characters. It was definitely worth it. It is if not the best - one of the best shoujo-ai out there, and I would recommend it not only to shoujo-ai fans. I recommend anyone to watch it. Cause its not simply girl x girl romance. As I said, it covered many different areas. It is deep (I have already said that like 1000 times...) and a great and precious anime to spend your time on.
-Enjoyment- 9/10
Story - 10/10
Art - 7/10
Sound - 8/10
Character - 10/10
Enjoyment - 9/10
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Overall - 9/10
It is a GREAT anime...WATCH IT.